New Delhi: What if your cup of tea didn’t just calm your nerves but also played a raga?
Nearly two years after the Megh Santoor installation—a rain-activated billboard that played Raag Megh—HUL’s Taj Mahal Tea and Ogilvy have returned with another sensory-led activation. This time, steam takes centre stage.
Watch the Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Chai Bansuri campaign film here:
Unveiled in Vijayawada, the new campaign titled ‘Chai Bansuri’ features a life-sized tea kettle that produces live music using steam. As the tea brews, the rising steam flows through a specially engineered flute embedded in the spout, delivering a live rendition of Raag Hamsadhwani, a Carnatic raga known for its uplifting tone.
Watch the Taj Mahal Megh Santoor campaign here:
The four-day activation was conceptualised by Hindustan Unilever in collaboration with Ogilvy and Mindshare. The consultant for the music score was Taufiq Qureshi, while the technical integration of the flute mechanism was led by flautist Hrishikesh Majumdar.
Each day featured two 15-minutes performances, where people gathered to enjoy tea while watching the show.
Additionally, the brand brought in regional influencers to create content and amplify the activation.
Speaking to BestMediaInfo.com, Jayesh Raut and Fritz Gonsalves, Executive Creative Directors at Ogilvy India, unpacked the creative intent and challenges behind the project.
“There’s always been a strong connection between Taj Mahal Tea and Indian classical music,” said Gonsalves. “We’ve worked with legends—from Zakir Hussain’s iconic TVCs to Rahul Sharma, and now with Nirali Kartik. This isn’t a borrowed association; it’s embedded in the brand’s identity.”
Yet, the musical branding has often raised questions. Why blend tea with classical music? What’s the connection?
“It’s a fair question,” Gonsalves admitted. “During ‘Megh Santoor,’ the connection between the instrument and the brand was a bit abstract. With ‘Chai Bansuri’, we wanted the tea to become the music. The kettle, the steam—it’s all integral to the experience. The metaphor becomes literal.”
(Left) Jayesh Raut; Fritz Gonsalves (Right)
But how did the idea of using a bansuri (flute) come about?
Raut explained, “It was a very natural fit for the idea. We knew we had to integrate tea, and the starting point was, you boil tea. From there, we realised the kettle is full of steam, and it has a spout. It almost resembles a flute. That’s really where it began, literally from that observation.”
He continued, "That’s when we began discussing how the teapot, with its built-in steam, might be more than symbolic. Steam behaves similarly to air, which is used to play wind instruments like the flute. Of course, there were challenges because steam also produces moisture. But if you want to do something new, you have to be brave somewhere. That was our starting point.”
Created over 8-9 months, the journey from ‘Megh Santoor’ to Chai Bansuri came with its own set of learnings. “While the former was well received, many, especially younger audiences or international viewers, didn’t immediately grasp the music-tea connection,” said Raut. “This time, we brought the story closer to the brand’s core. Tea is now the medium through which music is made.”
Gonsalves further told BestMediaInfo.com that since the previous activation, Megh Santoor, was so well received, the team wanted to ensure that the next campaign for Taj Mahal Tea not only surpassed the last but also addressed the gaps and learnings from it.
From idea to execution: The making of the bansuri kettle
“A lot went into making tea inside the life-size kettle of 500 litres capacity,” said Gonsalves. “You’ve got electricity, heat, and yes, around 200 litres of tea was actually made in it. One section generated steam, using a superheater. Unlike a normal home heater, this raises the temperature to around 125 degrees Celsius. That’s how we get high-pressure steam.”
He continued, “Steam from both the brewing process and the superheater is directed into a specially designed flute. Inside that flute, we embedded mechanised fingers that activate when the steam flows through. We studied the note structures of the ragas we wanted to play, Raag Hamsadhwani, in this case, and replicated those finger movements mechanically.”
“So, as the steam passed through the system, it triggered the movement of these fingers, which in turn played the notes of the raga. There are more technical formulations inside, but that’s essentially how the steam became music,” he added.
What emerges from this campaign is not just another branded experience, but craft. Of storytelling through steam and of the timelessness of a good cup of tea paired with an eternal raga.
Gonsalves continued, “Jayesh made an animation film to show the idea to the client, which got approved in 2 and a half minutes.”
“As soon as the idea was approved, in under two minutes, the first step was to create a working prototype,” added Raut. “We needed a functional proof of concept (POC). That’s when we involved Ogilvy’s tech team.”
“Earlier, when we were developing the idea, we were looking for pure magic,” he continued. “But the feasibility had to be tested.”
Gonsalves added, “Luckily, we have a strong in-house tech team at Ogilvy. We jam with them at the concept level itself. They don’t just say yes or no; they actively improve the idea. They’ve done this countless times.”
Raut explained, “Theoretical feasibility is discussed even before the client sees it. In fact, this was the third version of the POC that finally got approved. The earlier ones failed due to material and acoustic challenges.”
One of the key issues? Material choice.
“What seemed simple turned out complex,” said Raut. “We initially thought of using bamboo and wood but realised quickly that steam and water would damage those. So we explored plastic and finally landed on metal. But then, how shrill would a metal flute sound? What thickness would work? We kept experimenting.”
Another challenge was the sound balance.
“In one of the POCs, the mechanical sound of the fingers was louder than the flute itself,” he said. “So we had to find a way to dampen that and ensure the raga could be heard clearly. The sound of the bansuri had to dominate, not the engineering behind it.”
Adding to that, Raut said, “When the flute was finally made, it had to be tuned, and that was a mammoth task. Both Taufiq and Hrishikesh tuned it along with the engineers. It wasn’t just about building the instrument but making sure it resonated with the right sound.”
Also, an amplifier was used to amplify the volume of the music generated from the kettle so that at least around 200 people could hear it.
Gonsalves added, “When one felt it won’t work out, the other stepped in and said, 'it will happen.'”
Vijayawada: A strategic first stop
“The decision to launch the campaign in Vijayawada was strategic. “Taj Mahal Tea is the most loved tea brand in the city,” explained Raut. “We wanted to create something that goes beyond a TV commercial—something people can walk up to, engage with, and remember. Vijayawada felt like the right place to start.”
To extend reach, Taj Mahal Tea collaborated with Zee Telugu for a branded content integration. In a recent episode of Padamati Sandhyaragam, the lead character visits the installation, effectively taking the experience from Bhavani Island into viewers’ homes.
Adding further depth to the installation’s artistic choices, Raut revealed a subtle but powerful design detail.
“The gate arches and the base—the vase on which the kettle is placed—if you look closely, it’s not just a decorative stand,” he explained. “It’s actually inspired by the Taj Mahal Tea logo. The outline, the shape—if you view it from the top, it mirrors the brand’s logo in form.”
“It’s not a random design decision. It ties back to the identity of the brand. We wanted people to subconsciously feel the connection and not just with the music or the tea, but visually, too,” he added.
Raut also pointed out a second thoughtful element embedded in the structure.
“The design on the podium—the pattern on the kettle itself—if you observe it closely, it comes from the Taj Mahal Tea pack,” he said. “At first glance, it looks ornamental. But when you look very carefully, you’ll see that the motifs are actually tea leaves.”
He continued, “We modified that slightly and transformed them into musical notes from Raag Hamsadhwani. So, even in the visual texture, tea and music come together. It’s all intentional.”
But the detailing didn’t stop there.
“The shape of the kettle itself—that came directly from the dome of the Taj Mahal,” Raut revealed. “If you compare them side by side, the curve matches almost by the millimeter. It’s not just inspired by it; it’s structurally replicated.”
“It is the dome,” he added. “We lifted the design, scaled it, and made it into the kettle. The monumentality of the Taj Mahal is literally built into the product. It’s a quiet nod, but it anchors the installation in a deeper sense of identity.”
Brand before awards
The duo confirmed that this campaign will also be entered into the Cannes Lions this year. For the record, Taj Mahal Tea’s ‘Megh Santoor’ campaign has won over 50 awards globally and in India since its launch.
But was the campaign designed to win awards?
Gonsalves was clear: “That’s not the primary filter. It should work for the brand. It should increase brand love, help in sales. If it doesn’t, then awards are just a topping.”
He continued, “Sure, the idea is creative, and yes, we know it had award potential, but that is secondary. The real goal is to make people spend more on Taj Mahal Tea. If it doesn’t move the needle for the brand, the rest doesn’t matter.”
Raut echoed this sentiment: “Every brief we take has one core filter—it should be iconic. It should be something people talk about. If that’s done right, awards become a bonus. But if it doesn’t land with people, even awards won’t mean much.”
He added, “That’s why clients keep coming back. Not because we win at Cannes Lions. But because the idea works. It makes them believe, and they invest in us.”
With this campaign, Taj Mahal Tea reasserted its long-standing association with Indian classical music, now through a medium as ephemeral as steam, yet as enduring as the ritual of tea itself.
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